Posted by: Rod Kurtz on December 4, 2007

For those who don’t know what social networking is, let me take a moment to clarify. It’s the new catch phrase for what used to be called word-of-mouth advertising. A social network is an online community where people meet others who share common interests. Many business owners ask me how they can become part of these online communities. Most believe it’s hard to get involved in community-based networks, and even harder to use them. This is a myth.

In order to use a network to your advantage you must do the following:

Find the right network—the one where your target audience is spending its time. This may be a large network like MySpace, or a more niche network with a smaller focus like Dogster.
Make sure you network with the right customers, and leave the Tom Cruise fake accounts out of your network. This will help you send targeted marketing releases out to your true target audience.
Keep your social network identity in front of the customers that you acquire on the social network. This can be done by writing comments, writing blogs, sending messages, and bulletins.

This advice is just the tip of the iceberg for what can be accomplished in a social network environment. Any and every business should consider a strong social network campaign, as it can increase your exposure with your customers.

Andy Leff
CEO
Incplace.com
Philadelphia, Pa.

Reader Comments

Zakir Husain

December 7, 2007 1:25 AM

Hi, thanks for your useful tips for the freshers who have just joined a BPO and face a lot of difficulties in a professional marketing. What I felt it is very comprehensible introduction of social media optimization or social networking.

Louise Heine

December 14, 2007 3:08 PM

I work for the York County Chamber of Commerce. We have been discussing utilizing MySpace but I'm not sure its the right avenue for the Chamber. I'm interested in hearing from what others think.

Osindero Adetola

December 17, 2007 4:42 AM

Hi,thanks for the advice but i dont know network groups i can join.I operate an IT firm that is solely into software technology.Are there reasonable networks i can join?

Keith Tacla

June 30, 2008 7:08 PM

I work for a IT business computer service firm and I do Business Development for them. We have been trying some blog sites, sending out bulk e-mailers and writing newsletters but I can't seem to get any bites for catching that big fish. Any ideas?

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